Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first...........Sam Clemens

Thursday, May 14, 2009

A fine example

In response to a CPS thread about the pros/cons of text messaging, I threw out the following post. When I went back to see if anyone had responded, I re-read what I'd written and in a rather vain moment, I was amazed at how good it sounded. And so to continue my sinful vanity, I now share it with you. (As much for laughter as anything else.) Aside from the obvious physically disconnected lifestyle that texting (and emails and computer forums to be fair) have brought about, I have to wonder if the sub-language of texting will take over normal grammar much the same way that printing has made cursive writing obsolete in our schools.

Of course the spelling of cursive writing versus printed writing are not different, I was speaking to the culture of the thing. Thirty years ago it would have been educational blasphemy, as well as being simply incorrect, to present something that was printed. It makes one wonder that even though now we could never imagine a world where what amounts to sloppy shorthand would be accepted as proper English, in thirty years who knows where we'll be.

Texting is ok, even fun. But nothings is as good as real talking. But it seems, with all the ways to connect and with such speed, too many times we just want to hide and not face things face to face, including our true feelings.

ps- we will let Jeff text and email so we know what he is saying. Altho' with all the 'shorthand', what are people saying??